This game is a beautiful concept, but...

[LunaFortuna]

This game is a beautiful concept, and, it would work splendidly in a harmonious environment. However, this involves real people, and real people are like wild cards. When you get enough real people into the same place (especially via the anonymity of the internet), that is when unpredictability comes into play. Because, after all, people are unpredictable.

Here are some of my concerns with the game:

1) The community is super sweet and sugary right now, but, what happens when toxic and negative people infiltrate the community? Sure, reporting them can alert whoever is monitoring the responses, but, words cannot be unsaid and neither can the damage done by those words. Plus, this would just bring up another issue. How would trolls and mean people be punished? Would they get a ban from the game? Will they eventually not be able to use the game altogether, even though they paid for it just like the rest of us?

2) I've already seen several suicidal comments and remarks about people wanting to end their own lives. We cannot even reach out to these people to try to console them further because we aren't allowed to give out contact information. Some of us could be very well qualified to talk with these people. It just leaves me feeling kind of helpless and vulnerable whenever I see a tragically hopeless letter from a person who is clearly broken and hanging on by a thread, and, all I can offer them is a measly sticker to show them that I care about them and think that their life matters.

3) Right now, there is no option to delete letters. The dev said that in order to delete them, they must be reported, examined, read, and then they'll be deleted. To me, this seems very extra. Okay so, let's say that I leave this game open on my computer and my lovely, wonderful, and amazing boyfriend sees me complain about an issue in our relationship because he goes onto my computer (as he often does) and thinks: "Ooooh, I wonder what game she is playing?" and my private messages and letters that I'd like to delete are all there for him to read on accident. Please give us the option to just delete triggering letters we've written and no longer want to see. Also, some responses to our letters are also triggering, especially when very bad advice is given. Trust me, no one wants to go through the process of reporting these letters when they poured their personal and often tragic life stories into them, and it just feels almost violating to not have the option to delete them ourselves and to have to go through some bizarre reporting process where they have to be examined and evaluated before being permanently deleted.

4) We cannot give out our personal details such as our names or our personal accounts, and yet, telling a bunch of people that they cannot do something is like holding up forbidden fruit in front of their faces. People eventually (if they haven't already) will still do it. They might be upfront about it or they might get creative and find sneaky ways to do this by using some sort of code. This policy cannot be enforced perfectly because the more people that join, the more chances there will be for chaos and things going downhill. Murphy's law.

I don't mean to be negative but these are all genuine concerns and potential problems I see for this game's future. I'm an idealist IRL, but, I tend to be a realist when dealing with anonymous people on the internet. So, as much as I'd like this little game community to stay positive, normal, and uplifting as it is now, I wonder how it'll look within a matter of months once more people join. As I said, more people = more chances for chaos and disruption.

I just wonder how strictly, how well, and how realistically all of these strict rules in the game can be enforced by a small group of people who can only do so much. And as I said, once words are said, they cannot be unsaid even after reporting. A lot of people on here are fragile and have spoken of suicide. None of us can reach out to help because we cannot even link our Steam accounts - just give a measly sticker in hopes that some digital sticker brightens up the day of a suicidal person. If trolls infiltrate the game, then so much damage could be done to the psyches of those who are vulnerable.

It's a beautiful concept of a game, as I said, but one that could easily have a plethora of potential flaws.

[𐂓]

I share your concern about idiots that just cannot let others have a good time and must cause others to be miserable as well.

I love the concept too--but with live replies instead of canned replies, I dread the day some negative reply becomes the last straw to some suicidal person's existence.

[Psywytch]

you're totally right. but the good thing is, i don't think that most of the toxic people would pay to buy such a game. this is the bright side, i guess

[I have quit gaming]

Originally posted by Crystalhead:

you're totally right. but the good thing is, i don't think that most of the toxic people would pay to buy such a game. this is the bright side, i guess

You would be suprised.. It's actually kinda similar to why people buy cheats/hacks for videogames. They just enjoy ruining people's mood and get a superior feeling by doing so.

[BaaLamba]

Thankfully it's unlikely trolls will come to this game for one simple reason... You can't reply back to responses. They wouldn't get any feedback to their trolling unless it's taken to the forums. Not in game. They'll get bored after a while with no responses. At least, I sure would like to think so.

[LuiGeeGee]

First of all, thank you for your well thought out response. This "game" is a weird experiment in human interaction and it will have its bumps in the road. I will do my best to answer each of your points, so please bare with me.

1. We get all reports. People who hurt others, or have bad intentions, are banned. If they just bought the game to troll people, that's on them. However, they can probably get a refund from steam if they meet valve's criteria.

2. This is a tough one. Through Kind Words, we find that people just want to reach out and see that they're not alone. You're right, a sticker and a letter is not enough to save somebody, but sometimes even that acknowledgment is helpful. We, and you, can only do so much through this experience.

3. This is something that is being worked on. I'm very sorry if this has happened to you.

4. You're right, any system involving real humans is open to abuse, it's the nature of people to want to break rules imposed on them. We have tried our hardest to keep everything in the game anonymous, but the last leg is on the players. Please report any and all personal information you see.

Things are probably only as bad as their going to get, right now. The game has far surpassed our expectations for the amount of users but as sales slow and the game receives less attention, things should even out more. Kind Words has already had thousands of users for a couple months and it was the positive mindset and energy of the players that kept it like it is. If we had not found that to be the case, we probably would not have released it on Steam. It was always a gamble to release to so many people, but we had some faith that people who would want this, would keep it a reflective space and so far it has been working.

I just want to say, I do share some of your concerns, and we are working on all of them to try and make this as good as it can be, but like I said, any systems involving real people and real emotions is going to be messy. Thanks again.

[ZAToM]

very valid concerns, and good answers from dev.

my biggest concerns were trolls, first i thought this game is just all offline play and the stuff is pre written and when i found out it is other players i thought there is no way this can work

but i read letters for 5 minutes and i am suprised

as said before the limitiation no not reply back prevents people from trolling in the game (atleast over a long duration because they get no response and it becomes boring) i still was very concerned about people who just buy it, write bad stuff and refund it immediatly for example but if the "sweet and sugary" community stais and reports all behavior i think it has a good chance to stay "clean"

[Jayd]

A troll wants the reaction. Without feedback, without a reaction there is nothing for them. This is well proven, if you don't react to a troll they get bored and move on. The letter is once only, we can't reply. The troll won't be fed.

Originally posted by ZAToM \\{{~*~}}//:

first i thought this game is just all offline play and the stuff is pre written

I had the same thought about just the first few being pre-written. Thinking it would be a good way to weed out undesirable people if it were designed that way. But that is likely just the nature of it being a new, quite special feeling, to start.

[Serious Secare]

Yeah I read an article (more like sponsored content) about it and I was interested, until I wondered how long until someone turned it into porn.

[Puppet Pal Clem]

Nothing is perfect, you can make the most perfect world and there would still be killers. You or i, anyone for that matter can't stop it. Trolls are apart of the internet, you can only mitigate it, but you'll never stop it.

[Shingo]

I agree with your concerns. Also, I hope it's just my luck, but I had to report 2 replies in a row today. :D